Let There Be Light...

Today we conquered one of the few remaining roadblocks standing between us and finishing the work on our house: the electrician came to install all our new light fixtures today. Previously, our light fixtures were a motley assortment of hideous, broken, and cheap dreck. Our rooms were dimmer than they needed to be, and as the weather has gotten warmer, we've realized that the master bedroom, located at the back of the condo, doesn't receive very good air flow, necessitating the installation of a ceiling fan. I'd purchased all new fixtures months ago, and they've been piled up under a window in the living room since before we moved.

In addition to the two new fixtures in the kitchen and the futuristic chandelier in the living room, we also added a third recessed light above the island.

We were finally able to get an electrician to come today to put them all in, and the difference they make is dramatic. Not only does the place look classier and more finished now, all of our rooms are much brighter. This has mixed results -- my work space in the kitchen is much better illuminated, and it'll be much easier to tweeze my eyebrows in the bathroom, but suddenly many of the surfaces that I've been meticulously trying to keep clean look far dirtier. Life is all about trade-offs, I suppose.

The mancave. I couldn't get the new fixture in the photo, but you can see how much progress has been made in there now.

Most importantly, now that we've swapped out the light fixtures on the bathroom walls, we can paint in there, which is the last big project we have on the list to tackle ourselves. There are still smaller things for us to do, like hanging the curtains in the master bedroom (which will be no small feat, considering the scale of the bank of windows in there), and hanging all our artwork -- both projects that will help add the finishing touches to our home. Plus, we have a list of projects that we're going to hire a professional for, like installing a tile backsplash in our kitchen and installing stone tile on our window sills to prevent water damage from all the condensation that forms on them. 

There's just a hint of the ceiling fan in this one, but I really like the stainless steel finish with the room.

For the first time, I really feel like the end is in sight. Stay tuned to see how it turns out!